Apparatus for treating coated fabrics.



W. P.- EGAN & J. J. SHEEHAN.

APPARATUS FUR TREATING COATED FABRICS.

v APPLICATION FILED MAY Y, 1917.

PatentedJune 11, 1918.

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`VIEILLI P. EGAN AND JOHN J'. SH'EEHAN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led. May 7.1917. Serial No. 166,862.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it knownthat we, WnmAM P. EGAN and JOHN J. SHEEHAN, citizens' of the United States, residing in Lynn,fin the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for Treating Coated Fabrics, of which-the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to an apparatus for treating a strip or length of canvas or other brous material provided 4on one surface with a coating of adhesive material, whereby a predetermined length of the coated fabric is-subjected on its fabric side to moist steam so as to moisten .the brouslayer'in the desired or proper manner with a minimum amount or quantity of steam, and Valso is subjected to heat in the presence of said moist steam and in suiicient .quantity to effectively increase the heat of the moist steam so as to soften thel gum or other adhesive coating without impairing the effectiveness -of the moist steam upon the fibrous layer, whereby anA apparatus is obtained, which is hygienic 'm that the' quantity of moist steam employed is so small as to be practically' confined in the apparatus and thereby excluded from the Work room in which the apparatus is located, which is economicalI to operate on account of the minimuml consumption of steam, which is effective in operation, which is light and capable of being easily transported Aand which'is inexpensive to construct.

To this end we Aemploy a steam 'chest or chamber which is closed at its sides and ends and is provided with a perforated or foraminous top wall over which the coated fabric is passed with the brousxlayer in contact with said top wall and vpreferably covering the perforations thereof.

The steam chest or chamber is provided vwith one or more steam pipes, which are eX- tended lengthwise of the chamber for sub- Stantially Vthe length of the same and are l closed at their ends and provided with per- 50 fora-tions, preferably located in the'upper surface of said pipes and for the best resultV made small or fine. ,f

The perforated steam pipes are connect yd with a supply pipe for moist steam, Wh ch is provided with a valve by which the quantity, of live or moist steam discharged into the chamber can be regulated to meisten the fibrous layer of the coated fabric in the desired or able or flexlble yand enable it to be manipuroper manner, to render it pli' Patented June 11, 11918.

lated so as to conform to the shape of the article to which it is applied'. y

The steam chest or chamber is also provided with a heat radiator to increase the heat in the moist steam sufficiently to heat the adhesive Vcoating so as to render it soft or tacky, without increasing the amount or quantity of steam in the lsteam chest or chamber, and without impairing the .effectiveness of the moist steam upon the fibrous layer.

The heat radiator "may be anadditional pipe within the steam chamber, which is connected with the steam supply pipe toreceive steam Vtherefrom and which is imperpipe to act as a radiator of heat and to prevent passage of `any substantial volume of moist steam into the steam chamber.

.The fabric `treated with this apparatus is 755 forate or substantially so, to enable this especially adapted to be applied to an insole I in Fig. 1 with a portion of the fabric broken away. v

Fig. 5, a cross section on the line 5 5, Fig. 2, and Fig. 6, a section of the steam chamber pro vided with a modified form of radiator.

Referring -to the drawing a represents an oblong metal box which is closed atits sides and ends and is provided with a topwall `Z having perforations c. i The box a may be supported in any suitable manner and is herein shown as supported at its opposlte ends by uprights or posts 10, 12, which may tion. The box a constitutes ast'eam chest or and preferably will be of suitable length t v have the box a supported in an incline posichamber and is provided with preferably a plurality of perforated pipes 13, 14, located near the bottom of the chamber and extended from the' lower end thereof to near the upper-end thereof. The pipes 13, 14,'

are preferabl located near the sides of the chamber to o tain a more even distribution of steam which is admitted into the chamber through perforations 15 preferably in the upper surfaces of said pipes.

The pipes13, 14, may be designated the steam supply pipes for the chest or chamber a, and are connected with a source ofsteam supply for moistlsteam by a pipe 16 provided yvith a valve 17, by means of which the amount or quantity of moist steam admitted into the chest or chamber a may be regulated as desired. The steam admitted v into the chamber contains more or less moisture whichpasses through the perforations c in the top wall of the chamber a and acts on the librouslayer of the coated fabric 20, which iS passed over said top wall and normally covers the perforations therein. The moist steam serves to .render the fibrous layer flexible or pliable, but when economically used does not containsufcient heatto properly soften the gum or adhesive coating on the upper side of the. fabric wlthin proper time limits, and for this latter pur pose, the chamber a is, provided with one or more heat radiators, to increase the heat units in the moist steam without increasing the volume of steam and without impairing the effectiveness ofthe moist steam upon the fibrous layer of the coated fabric. v The heat radiator may be made in various forms, and in thepresent instance is shown-as a pipe 21, which is connected with the steam supply `pipe 16- and is inclined upwardly from the lower end of thel chamber a toward the upper end thereof, and said .pipe is closed or substantially closed against the passage of moist steam into the chamber, -so that the moist ysteam within the chamber is heated by heat which radiates from the pipe 21.

' In the present instance, the pipe 21 is represented as free from p'erforations, but 1t is'.

not desired to restrictthe'invention to a plpe free from perforations, as

lwould be obtained with a pipe aving only one or a few perforations, 1n which case the A' to insure its adhesion to the insole or other material'to which the coated fabric is applied upon a suitable bench or table 22,

good results without impairing the effectiveness of the moist steam to wet the fibrous layer' and render it soft and pliable.

In Fi 3, the radiator is shown as a pipe- 21, but 1t is not desired to limit theinvention inl this respect, as the chamber a and the moist steam therein may be heated by other forms of radiators, such, for instance, as shown in Fig. 6, wherein the radiator is illustrated as a'substantially small electrical unit or heater 24, which may be such as now commonly found on the market.

The coated fabric 20 may be drawn by the operator over thel perforated top wall of the chamberva, and may be taken from aA roll 25 wound upon a shaft 26 which is detachably supported by the upright posts o'rlegs 12 in any suitable or well understood manner. The fabric 20,0n its passage over the top wall of the chamber a may be guided by ,suitable devices, herein represented as ribs orpieces 27 attached to said top wall, but these may be omittedif desired.

AIn. operation, the coated fabric is laid upon the perforated wall4 of the steam chest with the fibrous layer in contact with the said wall, and the valve 17 is opened to admit steam into the pipes 13, 14, and into the radiator pipe 21, with the result that only a small volume or amount of steam is necessary to properly moisten the fibrous layer, t reby avoiding highly objectionable to the operators from the view point of hygiene and comfort, while at the same time the moist steam within the steam chamber ais rovided with additional heat to properly soften the lgum or adhesive coating without impairing the eiectiveness of the moist steam upon the fibrous layer.

The steam chamber a may be provided with 'a suitable drip pipe 30 for water of condensation.

By inclining the radiator pipe 21 'upwardly, any water of condensation which maybe formed in the said pipe is free to gravitate back into the supply pipe 16 from which it is forced out through the perforated pipes 13, 14, into the chamber a.

The coated fabric on its passage fromthe roll 25 may and preferably pass over a guide roller 40 su portedvby arms 41 attached to the cham er a.

It will also be observed, that the apparatus comprlses only a single steam chamber and can be made very light and inexpensive to build and operate.

waste of surplussteam into the .operatlng room, which is We have herein shown one construction of apparatus embodying the invention, but it 1s not desired to limit the invention to the particular construction shown.

Claims.

1. -In an apparatus of thecharacterl'described, in combination, a steam chamber l provided wlth a perforated wall with which provided with a perforated wall, and with an inlet for moist steam, and an upwardly inclined steam pipe within thevsaid chamber and substantially closed to the passagel of.

steam through it into said chamber and havin g its inlet end below its upper end.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, `a steam chamber provided with a perforated wall, with which a coated fabric cooperates to be moistened and heated by steam passing through said perforated wall, a steam inlet pipe extended into said chamber and provided with perforations for the passage of moist steam through the pipe into said chamber, and a heat radiator separate from the walls of said chamber and located in lsaid chamber and capable of radiating heat therein to increase the heat within said chamber without impairing the effectiveness ofthe moist steam upon the brous layer of a coated fabric movableover said perforated wall.

4; In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a steam chamber provided with a perforated wall, a plurality of perforated steam inlet pipes extended within said chamber for substantially the .length of the same, and an upwardly inclinedsteam pipe located between said perforated pipes and substantiall)7 closed'to the passage of steam through it and havingits inlet end below its upper end.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification.

' WILLIAM P. EGAN.

JOHN J. SHEEHAN. 

